Diana Palmer
Diana Palmer (known by her married name, Diana Palmer-Walker) is a character in the American comic strip The Phantom. She is married to Kit Walker Sr., the 21st Phantom, the titular superhero. The couple have two children together, Kitridge Walker and Heloise. Most recently, Diana has been working in the United Nation's Bangalla office. Family Diana was born into a wealthy family, by mother Lily Palmer and father Henry Zapman. Zapman's fate is unknown, but he is presumed to have died while Diana was still young, leaving Lily Palmer to raise her only child with the help of her brother, Dave Palmer. She has three cousins, Don, Lisa and Ann Palmer, but no siblings. Meeting Kit Walker Diana first met Kit Walker in Clarksville, USA, when they were both children. Kit, having recently arrived to live in the United States, together with his faithful friend Guran of the Bandar tribe, had run away from his aunt and uncle, Sid and Bessie, due to strong homesickness. Diana, only eight years old at the time, convinced the ten year old Kit to stay together with his aunt and uncle. Though their first meeting was short, their fates were intertwined with one another. Some time later, Kit rescued Diana from a panther, which had recently escaped from the local Zoo, and was now running freely around in Clarksville. Kit, with his years of jungle training, shot the animal dead with a bow and arrows he had taken from his sports-teacher. After the dramatic events with the panther, the two did not see each other for years, before they were unexpectedly reunited at a Christmas party several years later, both around the age of eighteen to twenty. Kit was already a celebrated sportsman in almost every field, and Diana had broken records for diving. Kit and Diana fell in love with each other that Christmas holiday, the relationship going as far as Kit considering proposing to her. However, his plans abruptly came to a halt, when Guran, who came back to the United States from Bangalla to tell Kit that his father was dying after being stabbed in the back by the villain Rama Singh, leaving Kit with no other choice than to leave Diana and travel back to his homeland to take The Oath of the Skull and assume the mantle of The Phantom. Marriage Eventually, The Phantom and Diana were reunited, and since then, they were married in an elaborate jungle ceremony. The wedding took place in the legendary Skull Cave. The President of Bangalla, Lamanda Luaga, and President of Ivory-Lana, Goranda, were both present at the wedding, and so were Mandrake the Magician and Diana's mother and uncle, Lily and Dave Palmer. Diana's mother would take a long time accepting the mysterious masked boyfriend from the jungle, hoping for years that Diana would meet someone else. But eventually, Diana ended up living with The Phantom in the Deep Woods - and Diana's mother was eventually happy about it. Later, Kit and Diana became parents of two children, Kit Walker Jr. and Heloise. Career Due to her husband's dangerous line of work, for the most part, Diana has learned to cope herself, but sometimes the help of the Phantom has been needed. She has been an explorer, a pilot, a nurse, a member of the Jungle Patrol and is currently working for the United Nations. Diana also has an Olympic medal in diving and a black belt in karate. In Other Media Diana was portrayed by Jeanne Bates in the 1943 Phantom movie serial. However, in the serial, she is the niece of Professor Davidson, and she is not romantically involved with the Phantom, but is intending to marry a man named Byron in the beginning of the story. In 1996, Kristy Swanson portrayed her in Paramount's big budget film The Phantom, featuring Billy Zane as The Phantom. In the film, Diana was sent out by her uncle Dave, a wealthy newspaper publisher, to Bengalla to help with the search of a fabled weapon of doom, the Skulls of Touganda. When she is trapped by the henchmen of the film's villan, Xander Drax, she is saved by The Phantom, who unbeknownst to her, is really her college boyfriend, Kit Walker. Trivia *Due to being confused with another Phantom character; an evil aviatrix named Sala, Diana Palmer is called Sala Palmer in Norway, one of the countries where the Phantom comics are the most popular. *Interestingly, throughout the entire run of The Phantom, over 16 men, apart from the Phantom, have proposed to Diana or abducted her to force her into marriage. Category:The Phantom Phantom, The